Yet another "what commuter car?" thread
Discussion
My trusty Mondeo is nearing the end of its useful life and will cost more to get through the next MOT than the car is worth so am in the market for a new commuter hack and seek the collective wisdom of PH. Criteria as follows:
1) Only do about 10-15k miles a year, it's only a 6-7 mile urban journey to work and back but parents live almost 300 miles away, so needs to be comfortable on the motorway and not rev so high and rattle so much that my nose bleeds.
2) Reliability is key, also relatively economical to maintain.
3) Needs to have room for small child + baby and all associated paraphernalia.
4) I know this is PH but I don't need something with a trillion horsepower that has enough torque to send the earth spinning in the opposite direction when I move off at the lights. Ideally high 20s mpg around town, over 30 would be a plus.
5) The cost of diesel engine repairs scares me and on the age of cars I'd be buying I'm not sure the fuel saving would compensate for higher purchase price and the dreaded turbo explosion.
6) Budget is about £3-3.5k.
So far I've looked at:
Passat 1.8/1.8T (02 model or thereabouts), Audi A4 (the old shape had a 1.6 litre engine which might save on the pennies on my normal drive), S40/V40 (again 1.6/1.8) or 3 series 316/318.
I realise a Mk 3 Mondeo ticks most of my boxes but I've had my fill of them for now. Vectras are also a no-no. Suspect Focus will be a bit too small.
It'll need to last me 4-5 years (probably 50-60k miles) ideally so nothing with space shuttle miles which might put a squeeze on my budget with some of the cars I've listed.
Have also considered C5/406 but paranoid about French cars. Rover 75s can also be had for peanuts but I live in fear of the inevitable head gasket failure on the K series and not sure what the deal with parts/spares will be over the next few years. Would love an X-Type Jag but not sure of the economy for mostly urban commuting. The 2.0 isn't probably all that thirsty but the fact it "seems" more expensive makes it a hard sell to my better half.
Haven't even thought of the Japanese yet...
1) Only do about 10-15k miles a year, it's only a 6-7 mile urban journey to work and back but parents live almost 300 miles away, so needs to be comfortable on the motorway and not rev so high and rattle so much that my nose bleeds.
2) Reliability is key, also relatively economical to maintain.
3) Needs to have room for small child + baby and all associated paraphernalia.
4) I know this is PH but I don't need something with a trillion horsepower that has enough torque to send the earth spinning in the opposite direction when I move off at the lights. Ideally high 20s mpg around town, over 30 would be a plus.
5) The cost of diesel engine repairs scares me and on the age of cars I'd be buying I'm not sure the fuel saving would compensate for higher purchase price and the dreaded turbo explosion.
6) Budget is about £3-3.5k.
So far I've looked at:
Passat 1.8/1.8T (02 model or thereabouts), Audi A4 (the old shape had a 1.6 litre engine which might save on the pennies on my normal drive), S40/V40 (again 1.6/1.8) or 3 series 316/318.
I realise a Mk 3 Mondeo ticks most of my boxes but I've had my fill of them for now. Vectras are also a no-no. Suspect Focus will be a bit too small.
It'll need to last me 4-5 years (probably 50-60k miles) ideally so nothing with space shuttle miles which might put a squeeze on my budget with some of the cars I've listed.
Have also considered C5/406 but paranoid about French cars. Rover 75s can also be had for peanuts but I live in fear of the inevitable head gasket failure on the K series and not sure what the deal with parts/spares will be over the next few years. Would love an X-Type Jag but not sure of the economy for mostly urban commuting. The 2.0 isn't probably all that thirsty but the fact it "seems" more expensive makes it a hard sell to my better half.
Haven't even thought of the Japanese yet...
This maybe?
supposed to be ultra reliable good for galactic mileage parts prices not too shabby but will not do high 20s about town.
I have one but it is older and has 170,000 miles on it.
still drives nicely and the engine ticks over like a swiss watch.
supposed to be ultra reliable good for galactic mileage parts prices not too shabby but will not do high 20s about town.
I have one but it is older and has 170,000 miles on it.
still drives nicely and the engine ticks over like a swiss watch.
You'll get a reasonable Volvo V70 for that, choice of petrol/diesel, manual/auto etc, almost all have good spec air con/climate, heated seats, electric mirrors/sunroof etc etc Seriously comfortable seats, lots of safety bits, reliable and cheap to run, loads of room. Much overlooked car. Not as sporty perhaps as you might want but for a utility car they're brilliant.
Am still looking but not found a decent V70.
I'm off tomorrow to look at an 02 plate Honda Accord 2.0 VTEC executive with a leather interior and all the gadgets and also an 02 plate 2.0 X-Type Jag. They're both on the same mileage, same spec (more or less) and running costs are similar (although higher than I first planned).
Head is saying get the Honda, heart is saying get the Jag. Both models seem to compare quite well in terms of performance/reliability but just can't make a decision...
I'm off tomorrow to look at an 02 plate Honda Accord 2.0 VTEC executive with a leather interior and all the gadgets and also an 02 plate 2.0 X-Type Jag. They're both on the same mileage, same spec (more or less) and running costs are similar (although higher than I first planned).
Head is saying get the Honda, heart is saying get the Jag. Both models seem to compare quite well in terms of performance/reliability but just can't make a decision...
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